Better Together

Family is like a candy bar... a lot of sweetness with a few nuts.

~unknown

I am very blessed to live close to my family. My children are so lucky to have their parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents in their daily lives.

Yesterday, Jon's grandpa had surgery; therefore, Laney and I baked a little dessert for G.G. and Papa Dave. One for them and one for me...I mean my family! Ha! Emily got home from school just in time to taste test! YUM!

Last night, Jon took everyone out to eat...including his grandmother! And look who just started to take interest in tractors while at dinner? Henry loves them now! And our post dinner entertainment back at our home? Mama raccoon! Please excuse the fact that that it looks like a MAC truck just ran over me! EEK! And you can see the MUCH LOVE I have for my dog here as well! (Yes, the mean jellybean in me came out. Oops!) Whenever I make this face, my family says it's my "Andee expression"...Andee being my sister!

And what would a lovely family filled day be without a bit sibling love? My little artist created a tissue house for this hand drawn gal! I was sooo proud of Laney while she created! This is EXACTLY something I would have created when I was little. Exactly! Henry loved the tissue box too! He wasn't too fond of the girl though. She was quickly replaced with plastic building toys! And the tissues from the box? Uh oh!

Here's to my wonderful family. And in the words of Jack Johnson....we are all definitely Better Together!

Off to enjoy Friday, since my little helper finished my chores!

Happy, happy weekend!

Breakfast With Mom

This morning I went to Breakfast with Mom at Emily's school. Sweet Laney took this picture, hence the fuzziness. Laney and Henry also went. Emily was glad that her family was with her. Henry liked the meal. Laney loved making funny faces with orange slices in her mouth and socializing with many that she knew. After breakfast, we walked Emily to her classroom. Laney hung up her purse and was to go sit with Emily, until I intervened! Ha!

And...I just purchased these fun beaded knobs for Emily's dresser! They were 50% off! I plan to add some more grown up accessories to Em's room, while putting away some of the little girl things (sob). She's definitely ready for more sophistication in her room. You would think that I would have painted something funky on her dresser, but actually, I'm quite afraid of a lot of color. Weird, I know!

Before: After: Not much, but as I say, "Baby Steps". Happy Thursday!

Happy Birthday...Kind Of

I'm all for a celebration...no matter who, no matter what. Today Laney is officially 4 1/2 and Henry is 16 months (Yep, both were born on the 27th), so Jon brought home ICE CREAM! Since we were celebrating birthdays, Happy Birthday by Altered Images ( circa 1981) has been playing in my head all evening long! I so love that song! It's from Sixteen Candles, a movie that I once knew every. single. word to. Although I loved that movie, I'm thinking that I will NEVER allow my children to watch it until they are 30! Ha!

After our celebration, Jon and the girls went to tend to our garden while Henry and I played a bit. Hoops? Dominos? I would set a few up and he would TKO them right away. Oh, he laughed so hard! Do the Dominos go in here? The girls arrived back home with these beautiful bouquets for their mama! So sweet! They were so proud! I love their post bath combovers! Ha! And... although it looks like Emily was crying, she was actually having an allergy attack...now we know what triggers her sneezing...dandelions or ragweed? or both!

So, the 27th was a good day. While my sweet 16 month baby napped this afternoon, my 4.5 year old crafted and I painted. We've been putting in a lot of art room time lately. Here's a skinny sneak peek. And, Laney's found a new love...SESAME STREET: OUTDOORS WITH JASON MRAZ! She knows almost every word (and she makes up what she doesn't know). It's not Altered Images' Happy Birthday, but we enjoy it...about 1oo times a day!

Something New, True and Blew

Something NEW...A few weeks ago, Jon's grandmother gifted Henry with a new John Deere blanket that she sewed! What a wonderful gift! Henry has been using it a lot, but it's been very difficult to get a picture of this "on the go" little man and his new boy blankie! Here is a decent shot (out of about 10). Henry just giggled and wanted to clown around, cute boy! His sisters tried to help out a bit, but they all just started giggling! :)

Something TRUE...Tonight as I was cooking dinner, I noticed that my fantastic furry raccoon friend was back. I haven't seen her since late fall, so I was extremely excited! I ran out with some dog food for her and called her name. She bolted, but then heard my voice and came to me, with a lot of hesitation though...it has been a few months. I then let her eat her dinner in peace. I just love "Mama". She has been coming for numerous years. In a few months, she will bring her babies. Now, mama raccoons are extremely protective and can be dangerous, but she proudly shows them off to me, since she knows that I am true to her. (NOTE: I volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center pre-children. After a lot of time with professionals, I hand raised 4 orphaned baby raccoons...with the help of vets and wildlife experts. The four kept coming back because I fed and watered daily...still do...and I think that "Mama" may be kin to one of my "baby" raccoons!)

Something BLEW....Tonight after dinner, we went on our first family of 5 bike ride! Jon pulled Laney and Henry in the Burley (Henry was too little last year), so Emily got to ride her own bike! Our 3 mile ride had a hill that made Emily's legs burn, was cold and very, very windy! It was great fun though! We rode with the wind on the way back, and it literally blew us home! Emily loved her first "solo" ride, Laney enjoyed her relaxing ride, and this is what happened to Henry!

Now that the kiddos are snug in bed, I'm off to paint!

Happy Monday!

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

It rained the whole weekend. Yep...THE...WHOLE...WEEKEND! I took advantage of the weather and suggested that we all go shopping!!!!! We had a great Saturday in Indianapolis. While Emily and I hit a few stores, Jon kept Laney and Henry occupied. My sweet girl always makes this amazing little face when she draws! Everyone in the family knows Laney's "artist face". Henry played with a few fun toys! We had a yummy dinner at Panera Bread! We got home late, but we let the girls stay up to finish watching a special DVD treat that Jon bought for them on our shopping trip...Toy Story. Oh, and that Cookie Monster blue blanket on Laney? Jon's grandmother made it for him when he was a little boy! Our shopping trip was a success, because we bought some new screened in porch chairs and a hand painted table! I have no idea why it looks like I am sporting a crazy Dolly Parton wig! It was pretty late, so I guess my hair was done for the night! Ha! I hope to add some fun accessories to the porch, but this little prince... gets into... everything! So far the girls give the new furniture 4 feet up! Since it was still raining today, I had to run on the treadmill. Ugh. I did get to see 4 tivo episodes of The Real Housewives of New York though! While I ran, everyone else watched Bolt! My sister (who just moved to Savannah, GA...and I'm soooo jealous) sent this pix of my niece Abby and their real life Bolt! Too funny! Now I hear exploding laughter from the other room. Everyone is watching Honey I Blew Up the Baby! We watched a 3D presentation of this movie at Disney World and everyone loved it! Off to enjoy a night of laughter with my family!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Fun, Fun Friday

Today was a great Friday! This morning, Henry had his 15 month checkup. (He will be 16 months next week...Yep, bad mom.) Here's a run down:

1. He weighed in at 23 lbs. and 2 oz. which is in the 25%. I guess he needs to start eating more of the chocolate cheerio necklace that his cousin Megan made for him, instead of feeding the cereal to the dog!

2. He is 50% height.

3. His head is 75%!

4. The doctor asked if he says three or more words. He does say two words: iche and eye.

5. He smiled at the nurse, received 2 shots, then glared at her as she left! Ha!

6. He shakes his head no but doesn't know why and he claps his hands, but not when you tell him to.

7. He has one speed...running.

8. He opens his eyes and smiles, smiles all day long, and smiles before bed. He is the happiest baby.

9. He gives amazing hugs and laughs whenever anyone else laughs...like he gets the joke.

10. He is laid back and the best, best baby ever! I love him so!

After Henry's doctor visit, my mom, Laney, Henry and I had lunch at an amazing deli and bakery, then went to a lovely little home decor boutique. A true treat for me!

Once home, Laney crafted until it was time to pick up Emily from school. Laney kept talking about creating Lance. Lance even had his own seat in the car. Lance, you ask? Lance Armstrong! Only my child would craft Lance Armstrong! I love her creativity! Here's Laney, Lance and Emily. Tonight we met Jon's family for a nice pizza dinner and after, went back to Jon's parents to visit. Jon's parents will celebrate their 40th Anniversary on Sunday! Happy Anniversary Grammie and Papa Larry! Here they are with all of their grandchildren. And...on a side note... Jon surprised me last night with a new camera (Canon Elph)! Yippee! It was an early Mother's Day gift, and now I'm off to figure some more of it out!

Happy Friday!

And I Think To Myself...What A Wonderful World

I hope that you all are enjoying the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! We've had a lot of earthy excitement here. Yesterday, I took Laney and Henry to a special zoo presentation at Laney's school. Laney was over the moon with excitement! Here are Laney and Madison ready to meet their zoo friends. Our family LOVES animals! Laney (with one of her teachers) enjoyed the snake! The dancing bird was Laney's favorite. My favorite? Gage, the cutie pie sloth! Laney and cousin Madison enjoyed petting this furball. Last night we enjoyed a family evening outside. Here's my sweet boy in our field out front! Both of Jon's grandfathers farmed and his dad and his uncle farm! Henry unknowingly snapped this picture of our woods. I thought it looked a bit eerie! This afternoon, I had my friend Alyssa over for lunch! Laney helped set our luncheon table. We used ALL of her ideas! The centerpieces...Laney's plant from school and Emily tissue flower! What a perfect touch! In honor of Earth Day, Alyssa gifted me this amazing smelling soap and some lovely crochet kitchen towels! So green! Love them! And I gifted Alyssa with a hand painted gourd bird house! Jon, the kids and I grew the gourds in our garden last year and my dad cut out holes for the birds (and hanging and drainage). I hope some funky birds enjoy their new home! A yummy taco salad lunch, warm cherry crumble served over ice cream for dessert, having an amazing visit with my friend surrounded my my beautiful children on a sunny day...yes, I think to myself...what a wonderful world.

Happy Earth Day! From our earthy home...

to yours.